Hello Sweetie
by areuevernotgoingtofall4that
Summary: Anthony Williams meets his sister River Song.


Hello sweetie

He stared down in awe at the piece of blue paper that had just been slid under his door. He knew those words, had heard them in many bedtime stories in his life. He knew what they meant but for a moment just froze letting the words wash over him. But a moment later he regained use of his body again and he threw open the door to find her standing there with a wild grin on her face.

River, his big sister. He had never seen her in person before just in a picture on a phone that didn't belong.

"River?" he asked hesitantly, he had thought he would never meet her. That she would always be this larger than life figure that his parents gushed about but here she was in front of him. Space hair, curls that reached into the sky.

"Hello, Anthony," she said warmly but also with more than a hint of adventure. She knew who he was?

"Yes, I know who you are," she said seeming to read his thoughts. Anthony's thoughts were struggling hard to resemble something coherent. He had imagined conversations between the two of them but now that the time was here. He couldn't seem to remember anything he wanted to say.

"How?" was all that he was able to get out.

"How am I here? How do I know about you?" she asked as she closed the door to his apartment. Thankfully his roommates were all out. Two had already gone home for Christmas break. He wasn't sure how he would try to explain her presence there and he doubted due to the age difference they would believe that they were siblings. "I'm an archaeologist. I checked in on mother and father, I knew that they adopted. As for how," she grinned widely, "I borrow The Tardis now and then when the doctor won't miss it," Anthony's brain briefly short-circuited again. He had never heard anyone but his Mum and Dad talk about The Doctor. If it wasn't for the pictures he probably would have dismissed it all but here was someone else talking about him.

"You…." he took a deep breath. If he was going to be a doctor he was going to have to learn to deal with stressful and unusual situations a bit better.

"You came to see me? Why? Why now?" River's smile faded slightly.

"New York with Mom and Dad is still somewhat problematic but you're not in New York anymore." He had moved to Washington D.C to go to school in August, his first time living outside New York. It had been strange in that it had been less strange. Here there was no talk of things that hadn't come to be yet. Everyone speculated on the future but they didn't know what was going to happen the way that he did. Still, there was something missing from her explanation.

"I've been here for a whole semester why now?" he said with a slight frown. He would have loved to meet her at the beginning if it was only his proximity to New York and his parents that had been the problem.

"Leaving home for the first time is hard enough, I didn't want to make it more so, but also because I have a Christmas present for you. To make up for all the ones I've missed before now."

"A present?" he said somewhat faintly but also interested. River traveled the universe whatever present she might have for him would likely be unique and unequal to anything he had ever received. "For me?" he whispered quietly but River heard him and nodded with a soft smile on her face.

"Follow me," she said turning to the door and strutting out, Anthony stood there for a moment before darting out the door before he lost sight of her barely remembering to close the door behind him. The walk was short and funnily enough, came to a stop just outside a door that was clearly marked 'Janitor's closet'. She turned to face him grinning widely giving her eyes a more than slightly mad look. Why was his gift in a janitor's closet? Before he could wonder too much the door was thrown open and he was pushed unceremoniously through the doorway.

Anthony gasped at the sight that met his eyes. A phone box, a blue phone box was just standing there amongst all the brooms and mops. The Tardis. The thing he had imagined all his life but never actually thought he would get to see. It looked smaller than he thought but he knew it was bigger on the inside. River sidled up to The Tardis and unlocked it, opening the door showing him a glimpse of the inside. He could only see a little bit but the bit of the console room Anthony could see was fantastic. This definitely was a fantastic present being able to actually see the Tardis.

"Come along Pond," River said with a wide grin on her face. Anthony synapses managed to fire in the right order and he remembered that particular line from the stories.

"Wait, you mean?" Anthony jaw dropped at the implication and River nodded mischievously as she walked in the door. Anthony ran in before she could change her mind. The Tardis was definitely bigger on the inside and knowing it was due to being in a different dimension did nothing to dull the immensity and excitement of being in the Tardis. So much better than just being able to look at it from the outside.

"Where do you want to go?" The words distracted him from his thoughts and for a second he almost thought he heard that wrong.

"Come again?" River smiled kindly at him.

"All of time and space. Where do you want to go?" He had no idea he had never been outside of the United States. He had heard stories of other places but the adventures in those places had already happened. If he was going to get one trip in the Tardis then he wanted it to be his own adventure the kind he could look back nostalgically to in his older years the way his parents seemed to.

"Where would you suggest?" he finally asked.

"Well there's this moon in Ristor system 8 that has this drink that is to die for," Anthony hoped she didn't mean literally but with the mad grin on her face it was hard to know for sure. He did want an adventure though and hopefully, he would find one there.

"Geronimo," he said with a grin and River grinned back before just before going up the stairs and moving switches and they were off.


End file.
